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@@@@@Somebody had to take holdApparently Wireman had decided that was his jobIt's got to be Ilse who helped him with this I expected to find another painting over the printed matter on the last page, but I didn't What I saw there hurt my heart with surprise and loveMelinda was ever my hard girl, my project, but I had never loved her the less for that, and what I felt showed clearly in the black-and-white photo, which looked creased across the middle and dog-eared at two of its four cornersIt had a 548 right to look beat-up, because the Melinda standing next to me could have been no older than fourThat made this snapshot at least eighteen years oldShe was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, a Western-style shirt, and a straw hatHad we just come back from Pleasant Hill Farms, where she sometimes rode a Shetland pony named Sugar? I thought soIn any case, we were standing on the sidewalk in front of the little starter home we'd had in Brooklyn Park, me in faded jeans and a white tee-shirt with the short sleeves rolled up a turn and my hair combed back like a greaserI had a can of Grain Belt beer in one hand and a smile on my faceLinnie had one hand hooked into the pocket of my jeans and a look of love - such love - on her upturned face that it made my throat ache I smiled the way you do when you're about an inch away from bursting into tearsBelow the picture it said: If you want to keep current on who else is coming, you can call me at 941-555-6166, or Jerome Wireman at 941-555-8191, or your MomShe'll be coming 549 down with the Minnesota contingent, by the way, and will meet you at the hotel Hope you can come - love you either way, Pony Girl - Dad I closed the letter that was also a brochure that was also an invitation and sat staring silently down at it for a few momentsI did not entirely trust myself to speak "That's just a rough draft, of course Wireman sounded tentativeIn other words, not like himself at all"If you hate it, I'll junk it and start again "You didn't get that picture from Ilse," I saidPam found it in one of her old photo albums All at once everything made sens